Author's Notes: By now I should've learnt that when it comes to this level of schooling, there's no such thing as holidays. My one week break's as good as going back to school. *sigh*
Many thanks to 1Timberwolf for reviewing, and to all those who have added this story to your Favourites and Alerts! Hope you guys will enjoy this next chapter.
I do not own Transformers.
New
Chapter 2
[Prowl]
He swore it was a plot, a conspiracy against him. It was not the first time they had ganged up to make him crash, but here on Earth the frequency of such "harmless fun" was on an all-time high.
From illogical human sayings and idioms to their strange beliefs and superstition, Jazz and Sideswipe, together with the recruited Mudflap and Skids, found no end to the number of ways they could find to make their SIC's logic centre lock up. Of course, they had to deal with a very unhappy CMO after such episodes, but the fun derived outweighed such consequences.
After the fourth lockup of the day (which made it the twenty-third in the week), Prowl and Ratchet finally snapped and a very startled Optimus found four of his soldiers bound, gagged and hanging by their feet from the rafters above the recreational room.
[Wheeljack]
As much as they had cooperated with the humans and tried to distract Wheeljack from entering the laboratory, it was inevitable that sooner or later, he would have to go in and that an explosion would probably occur eventually. Most of them had thought Wheeljack would blow something up within the first hour of stepping into the base, but thanks to the briefing regarding several of the more prominent members of the Autobot forces, Lennox and Epps had taken measures to ensure that their base stay intact for as long as possible.
The record was an incredible four days. After that, the N.E.S.T. team ran out of ideas, and the laboratory was engulfed in black smoke, accompanied with a loud explosion that rocked the base and spilled coffee onto the visiting Galloway.
Needless to say, he was not pleased.
[Sunstreaker]
Most of the humans thought that the yellow twin would be just like his brother, and that N.E.S.T. would end up with a pair of arrogant and violent (of course they didn't verbally express this opinion) brothers. They were half right.
Sunstreaker was glaring and scowling at almost everybody 24/7. Sideswipe, on the other hand, to the astonishment of many on base, seemed to have done a complete turnabout. His personality became lighter, his sense of humour seemed to be restored and to the amusement ("Not for long," muttered Ratchet) and horror of many, the pranking season returned.
There was also the incident where the coffee-soaked Galloway bumped into Sunstreaker when he was storming out of the meeting room. The loud growl and intense glare coupled with the menacing step in his direction was enough to make him beat the world record for the 200m sprint out of the hanger. The warrior earned the respect of no few humans after that.
[Hound]
The first impression the humans received of Hound was that the scout was a very dedicated and hardworking soldier. He did his duties faithfully and eagerly, especially if it involved going out into the wild and crossing rougher terrains, and would return from patrol far later than his reporting time, covered in dirt and mud, but still smiling brightly.
Most of them had thought that his overtime patrol was due to his added efforts to do a few more rounds before heading back to base. Those who had listened to him as he excitedly shared the experiences from the explorations and nature walks after patrols knew the actual reason.
Mirage would flat-out deny him access into their quarters until he paid a visit to the wash-racks, but Hound was always more than happy to oblige.
[Mirage]
First, there was the eerie feeling that you were being watched, but seeing no one around. Then the bumps into an invisible wall while walking through the corridors. No one got injured, at most they merely made haste and walked at a much quicker pace to reach their destination.
It turned out that Mirage had some trouble fitting in and preferred to stay out of sight. He did his duties accordingly, but other than that he did not socialise much. Some suspected that he would spend his free time stalking the corridors to observe how things ran on Earth, thus the numerous ghostly incidents.
After several soldiers had reported the matter to Lennox, with a handful close to needing counselling, Ratchet had Mirage deactivate his cloaking device with instructions to use it only when necessary.
[Bluestreak]
Lennox would not complain about Annabelle being overly curious and asking too many questions ever again. The grey gunner gave the description "talkative" an entirely new meaning. Sure, he was friendly, he was not speaking ill of anyone, he was not spreading gossip or anything, but after a while it became harder and harder to pay attention.
Bluestreak would talk about anything and everything under the sun, and the topic of discussion could change as quickly as Blurr could sprint. Prowl, Sunstreaker (to many humans' surprise) and Sideswipe seemed to be the only ones who could actually listen to him patiently and earnestly, and the respect they gave him made the humans feel obliged to give him a chance.
The Major did a double-take one morning when he found his daughter and the gunner chatting amiably away in the rec. room.
[Blurr]
It quickly became apparent why the mech's name when translated from Cybertronian to English was "Blurr". In fact, the evidence was literal. The humans had a frustrating time in understanding what the speedster was saying when he actually stopped to talk to them. His words blended out in a stream of incoherent noise, leaving the attempting-to-listen soldiers gaping, confused and wide-eyed in a What-the-heck-did-he-just-say? manner.
He seemed to be on the move constantly, always rushing about here and there. Fast. For a being so much larger, the mech sure could move quickly. The reworked shift schedule to accommodate the new arrivals was still in progress (Prowl seemed to be spending lots of time in Ratchet's territory), so other than a few minor missions and light duties, the Ark crew had plenty of time on their hands. Unfortunately, this was useless in explaining why Blurr always appeared to be in a hurry.
For the safety of the humans, a separate lane had been marked out along the corridors.
Author's Notes 2: Right. As stated, updates will be slow. I'm sorry. And I could also use some suggestions for Blue and Blurr. If you have any ideas you would like to share, feel free to do so via reviews or simply send me a PM. All are greatly appreciated.
Reviews and/or criticisms (preferably constructive ones) are welcome. Thank you.
Refracted Imagination, logging off.
